According to the paper, hepatitis infections cause 3,500 fatalities globally each day, with hepatitis B accounting for 83% of these deaths and hepatitis C for 17%. The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that the number of deaths from hepatitis viruses is increasing globally, with over 3,500 deaths each day, and it is urgent to take immediate action to combat the second-leading cause of infectious deaths. A WHO analysis, presented in conjunction with this week’s World Hepatitis Summit in Portugal, revealed that the number of fatalities from viral hepatitis increased to 1.3 million in 2022 from 1.1 million in 2019, based on new data from 187 countries.
Meg Doherty, who oversees the World Health Organization’s global HIV, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infection programs, called these “alarming trends” during a press conference. According to the paper, hepatitis infections cause 3,500 fatalities globally each day, with hepatitis B accounting for 83% of these deaths and hepatitis C for 17%.
These viruses can be treated with generic medications that are affordable and effective.
However, by the end of 2022, only 3% of people with chronic hepatitis B had received antiviral therapy, according to the analysis. Just 20% of those with hep C, or 12.5 million people, have received treatment. “These results fall well below the global targets to treat 80 percent of all people living with chronic hep B and C by 2030,” Doherty stated.
There was a small decline in the total rate of hepatitis infections.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of WHO, however, emphasized that the report “paints a troubling picture”. “Despite progress globally in preventing hepatitis infections, deaths are rising because far too few people with hepatitis are being diagnosed and treated,” he stated in a statement.
According to the survey, less than one in five newborns on the continent receive a hep B vaccination, despite the fact that Africa accounts for 63% of new cases of the virus. The UN agency also bemoaned the fact that the afflicted nations frequently paid more than necessary and lacked adequate access to generic hepatitis medications.
According to the survey, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, and Vietnam account for two thirds of all hepatitis cases. “Universal access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in these 10 countries by 2025, alongside intensified efforts in the African region, is essential to get the global response back on track,” the WHO said in a statement.
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